 Stina
Nordenstam: Artful Dodger
By Madeline Virbasius-Walsh
Published: Sentimentalist (Fall/Winter 2006 - Vol 5.Issue 19)
Stina Nordenstam's delicate songs are enigmas. How is music so spare and
fragile able to come across as it carries the weightiest secrets of the
world in a whisper? 'The world is saved' is one of those rare albums that
gets under your skin and evolves, and strikes certain chords within you.
In some ways, these pensive songs unfold like a great film, its images lingering
long after you've experienced it for the first time. Since Stina is known
to isolate herself from the mainstream, opting not to play live and rarely
giving interviews, it wasn't surprising that it took a few calls to Sweden
before finally getting in touch with her. She graciously took time out one
evening from cooking a meal to give me some insight into her art.
Did you get away much this summer or take a vacation from doing music?
I stayed at home in Sweden for the summer except for a trip to Wales. I
don't go on tour and I'm not very fond of traveling. I can totally see the
point in it, but I can't relax if I don't have something to do. When I was
in New York, I was riding around taking photographs. That was great. But
just going on vacation could be a nightmare, especially if it's to exotic
places... I went to Zanzibar once for three weeks and it was awful.
Was it just too exotic and too foreign?
Yeah, exactly. There was nothing I could relate to. It was just unreal.
There were a couple of moments in those three weeks when I felt I had some
strong experiences, but on the whole, I just felt that I was so far away
from home.
Did the songs on The world is saved come quickly to you or was writing the
record a slow process?
It's never a very slow process. It's actually more like an express process.
I have the recording equipment at home and every day, I sit there and do
something... But when I decide I'm going to do a record, I have the feeling
that, sub-consciously, I've been working with the left hand and not knowing
what I'm doing. Then when I sit down to write, I find that most of the work
is already done. It's more a matter of organizing it. It's really good when
a record company says, 'oh, you should do a new record.' Then I guess it's
sort of omniscient.[laughs] Then that sets off the intellectual process.
Did you set out with any specific ideas or goals for this album before finishing
it?
Not really. The "normal me" is more of a feeling person than a
thinking person. I'm much more feeling-oriented. I couldn't have this dictionary
sort of viewport constantly, as if thinking 'what should I write about now?'
I need to have a point where I force myself to start thinking in those terms.
Do the words come first or do you write the music or melodies first?
It seems that earlier on, they always came together, and sometimes, they
still do. But to some extent, when you have good lyrics, they always have
a melody in them. They suggest a melody... the natural way to do it is at
the same time, but obviously, you will have to work extra on the lyrics
afterwards to fill in... It would be difficult for me to write entire lyrics
without any idea of the music.
Did this record seem like a turning point for you since it seems to be more
hopeful, in a way?
Yeah but I didn't consciously think that. Saving my life is more positive
now...has sort of influenced my choices. But it's an ongoing process. I
don't have the feeling that there's one part of me that is unchanged. Instead,
I have the feeling that my entire being is changeable every day.
Do you try to keep your songs separate from your "real life" by
maintaining a kind of distance in your lyrics?
The separation between the two is almost natural, because if I have some
kind of tragic experience in my life and I try to write about it, it's impossible.
It's too close to me. But if I can rewrite or punctuate in another way,
it can be possible. I think that's what art is in a way. It's not diary.
Do you discover new things every time you finish a new song since you may
have caught a moment in time or feeling and revisited it?
Not every time. The whole thing deals with your subconscious in a way. You
can't cancel it, or build anything on it... sometimes the moment's gone.
Do you see music as something that will be important to you for a long time
to come?
I have difficulty seeing the big picture. I'm really short-sighted. In some
ways it's a gift, because when I'm working on something, I can be extremely
focused on it. To me everything is important.
Is photography something that is still very important to you as well?
No. For me, photography was something creative for a period of time, but
I've discovered it... I think there was a point when I could have gone to
something on another level or stopped, and I stopped.
Do your fans in Sweden often recognize you on the street?
When I mention my name in some context when I'm paying for something, people
will recognize it and say 'oh, this is not how you look on your album.'
But I don't care as much now... I used to be really anxious about it.
I know that you don't like to tour, but do you perform live around Sweden
at all?
No. This might sound strange but in a way, I see myself as more of an artist
than a music artist. Music is something I just happen to be good at. I'm
really obsessed with the recording process. The way I see performing is
that it's more that you have to be an entertainer.
Or a character?
Yes just playing the songs on your record doesn't seem artful. I think it's
weird that it's such a widespread idea that as an artist, you should naturally
go out and play live. It's weird that the two are connected: making records
and doing tours, an
|